


Savior

by HurtByTenderLies



Series: Zutara Month 2020 [3]
Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: F/M, Zuko saves Katara, Zutara Month 2020
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-04
Updated: 2020-05-04
Packaged: 2021-03-02 05:03:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 822
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23999443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HurtByTenderLies/pseuds/HurtByTenderLies
Summary: Zuko saves Katara from an unexpected encounter.
Relationships: Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Series: Zutara Month 2020 [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1727017
Comments: 1
Kudos: 86





	Savior

**Day 3: Chance Encounter**

It was dark that night, as Katara slid through slim alleyways. She was late coming back from healing a wounded child at his parent’s house. It was dark now, and though they’d offered her the ability to stay overnight, she’d much rather stay in her own chambers than on a sofa. There was surprisingly a lot of activity in the streets, though it wasn’t all good. In fact, most of it was shady. She cursed herself for not accepting the guards Zuko had suggested.

Her visit to the Fire Nation was going to be long. Zuko had asked directly for her help; he wanted to show his people that other nations could be good; that they were equal. With Katara’s help, she and a few Northern Water Tribe healers had gone along to assist the citizens. To prove that they were not bad, they were indeed helpful. To top this, Toph had also gathered an amount of talented earthbenders to help rebuild parts of the cities. It was hard, but the people were starting to develop trust. Well, some of them.

Katara turned around as she heard a skitter of something on the ground behind her. She felt like she was being watched, but she couldn’t see anyone behind her. Warily, she took a few more steps and heard another sound. She whipped around, coming face-to-face with a smug man, who looked down at her maliciously. She felt fear rise in her belly, and moved to draw water out of her waterskin, but she found herself held in place by a rough pair of hands. She glared at the man in front of her, a near snarl on her face. The person behind her squeezed her wrists behind her back, the pressure painful. She yelped.

“Let me  _ go! _ ” She shouted, fighting the man behind her, trying to shuffle away, kick, anything.

The man behind her chuckled darkly as he leant down to smell her hair. She screamed for help, but there was a quick hand over her mouth. She felt tears well in her eyes as more figures approached.

“Ah, yes. Katara of the Southern Water Tribe. You look a little lost, little waterbender. Didn’t anyone teach you not to wander alone at night? Surprising, considering the savages there in the South Pole. You can’t be too careful around them. Ozai would never have allowed you here. This is  _ our _ land. You don’t belong here,” He shouted out the last word.

Katara didn’t stop fighting, going as far as to bite her captor’s hand. She tasted dirt and grime. He pulled his hands away, and she earned a smack in return.

A sinister smile graced the first man’s face as he traced the line of her chin. She spat at him, wishing in that moment, that looks could kill. He moved to grab her throat. She closed her eyes to brace herself. When the grip didn’t come, she opened her eyes.

The man that had previously stood in front of her before fell to her feet, his hands bloody. She noticed he was missing his fingers. Left in their place, was gushing blood. She screamed as another figure seemed to materialize in front of her. Only then, did she realize her hands were free. She could run. She should run.

The figure stepped into the light, and she felt a weird familiarity. She was paralyzed as men writhed around her, crying in pain. She stood, staring at a blue and white mask. Her heart caught in her throat. She’d heard of the Blue Spirit, but she hadn’t known it to be so violent. There was never a report of such force.

Jerking back to her senses, she turned and ran, ran as fast as she could. Then, just as she was out of the alley, she felt a hand catch her arm. She looked over her shoulder and saw the mask staring back. Her heartbeat was loud in her ears. Her mouth became dry.

The hand holding her loosened, before it tugged her slightly back. She turned and exhaled deeply, somehow not scared.

“You saved me… Thank you,” She whispered, looking down.

She felt the absence of the hold, but then her hand felt warm. There was a hand in hers. She looked at them intertwined, and felt the sense of familiarity again. She didn’t pull away from the black gloved hands.

She glanced up, and there was no mask. She looked into golden eyes. She looked at the scarred face she recognized, then threw herself into his arms.

“Zuko? You saved me,” She felt tears well in her eyes as he hugged her tightly.

If he hadn’t been there, who would have saved her? She shivered.

“I’ve saved you before, and I’ll do it again. Just be more careful next time. Accept my guards,” He added softly.

She didn’t let go until they had to pull away.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading! I was busy today, so it wasn't everything I wanted it to be, but I hope it was enjoyable all the same.


End file.
